Vehicular accessories that attach to a vehicle and typically, a body panel of a vehicle are well known. Examples of such accessories include, but are not limited to, trim strips, moldings, frames for lighting elements, splash guards, running boards, mirror housings, and aerodynamic components such as air dams, spoilers, and the like. Typically these accessories are designed as removable components and thus are not integrally formed with the vehicle body panel of interest. For example, it may be desired to enable the accessory to be easily removable, such as for vehicle lighting elements to enable the lighting element to be replaced.
Frequently, it is desired to provide the accessory or other component with an exterior having the same color as the vehicle or a particular exterior portion of the vehicle. Accordingly, it is necessary or at least preferred, to paint that accessory or component the same color as the vehicle or exterior portion thereof. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, it is difficult to achieve a match between painted components particularly if the components are painted from different sources of paint, painted at different times, and/or painted under different conditions. As a result, painting operations typically use one or more jigs or other support structures to support the accessory alongside the vehicle so that the accessory can be painted at the same time as the vehicle or vehicle panel to which the accessory will be subsequently attached. Artisans have developed numerous designs for such jigs or support structures such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,036,779 and 5,707,450. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,411 describes a complex vehicle painting and assembly system that utilizes numerous jigs for holding components during painting.
Although satisfactory in many respects, the use of such jigs increases the amount of floor space needed in a painting facility such as a paint booth. And, stocking the relatively large number of such jigs required in a large scale vehicle painting operation increases costs and time requirements in using, maintaining, and eventually repairing or replacing such jigs.
Recognizing the desirability in painting all vehicle body components in the same operation and using the same paint source, a technique and assembly was described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,486,481 which attempted to eliminate separate stand-alone painting jigs. The '481 patent describes an apparatus for temporarily supporting vehicle body panels during painting. The apparatus attaches to a main portion of the vehicle and the body panel of interest prior to painting. The apparatus enables the body panel to be moved to a variety of different positions during painting while the panel is attached to the vehicle.
Although the strategy of the '481 patent would likely eliminate the need for separate stand alone painting jigs for certain large body panels, the method of the '481 patent still requires significant assembly and removal operations associated with the support apparatus. And, the strategy of the '481 patent still requires a support apparatus, although it does not occupy valuable floor space. In addition, it would be expected that corresponding costs would also be associated with the support apparatuses. Accordingly, a need remains for a system and method by which vehicle accessories or components can be supported without the use of a separate jig or support apparatus while they are painted, preferably during the same painting operation as the vehicle to which they are subsequently attached.